[{"id":39190,"date":"2026-06-19T13:58:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T17:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/?post_type=blog-post&p=39190"},"modified":"2026-06-19T16:56:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T20:56:45","slug":"friend-of-the-month-tim-minerd","status":"publish","type":"blog-post","link":"http:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-tim-minerd\/","title":{"rendered":"Friend of the Month: Tim Minerd"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Born and raised in Virginia, Tim Minerd most recently spent 10 years as a New Yorker before a career opportunity brought him to Miami, where he met his now-hubby, Davis, in a gay kickball league. The couple live in South Beach with their two rescue mutts, Atticus and Scout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I understand you became a Friend when someone gave you a membership. Were you aware of the Fair prior to that?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I\u2019d read about the Fair in Miami New Times<\/em> but had never been until I got a gift membership. Best. Gift. Ever. Seriously, if you have a book lover in your life, I can\u2019t think of a more thoughtful gift than a membership paired with a favorite book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think the Fair has brought to Miami?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I love that it brings Miamians from all walks of life together in a way we don\u2019t usually see beyond our local ventanita. Despite its size, the Fair feels like an event for locals just as much as it does for all the big names and book fans who come from all over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You upped your membership level last year \u2013 what led you to that decision?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after becoming a Friend, I felt like I\u2019d joined the best, brightest, and most welcoming group of people in Miami. I\u2019m a transplant from New York City (yes, one of those) and thought Miami was all about exclusive members\u2019 clubs, which isn\u2019t my scene at all. I\u2019m more of a Golden Girls<\/em> \u201cthank you for being a friend\u201d kind of guy. So, I found my people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of great benefits to being a Friend \u2013 which ones do you enjoy the most?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Friends are really fun \u2013 seriously, you meet lots of great people! And with extra tickets to share I\u2019ve been able to invite my friends along for Evenings With sessions and other special events. It\u2019s a great way to introduce new folks to the Fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cu\u00e9ntame sobre un momento o experiencia de MBF que realmente se destaque para ti.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Helping Bookleggers<\/a> give out thousands of free, donated books. I volunteer at the shop \u2013 it\u2019s located in Bakehouse Art Complex<\/a>; come see us! \u2013 and it was so cool to get to bring our Traveling Book Trailer<\/a> to the Fair. The only thing better than a good book is a free <\/em>good book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l fue el \u00faltimo gran libro que le\u00edste? \u00bfEst\u00e1s leyendo algo bueno ahora?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I just reread The Giver<\/em><\/a> by Lois Lowry \u2013 the copy with all my middle school notes in the margins. It\u2019s wild and fun to reread YA books as an adult and reflect on what kind of impact they\u2019ve had on your life. The Giver <\/em>taught me empathy, the hardest language to learn. I\u2019m lucky I learned it at a young age, in large part thanks to Lowry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now I\u2019m reading Barry Diller\u2019s memoir, \u00bfQui\u00e9n lo iba a decir?<\/em><\/a>. Honestly, I wish this book had been written when I was younger. Knowing that a hugely successful media mogul was also quietly gay would have given me way more trust and confidence in the world. And now I\u2019m learning that he really was a trailblazer this whole time. As the title suggests, who knew? It\u2019s a very inspiring memoir and I hope it reaches a wide audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which MBF 2025 program did you find most delightful?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The live music, believe it or not. It was so great to settle in with a new book and new friends and enjoy all the live acts while reading in between. I didn\u2019t expect to dance at the Fair, but that\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your fave book-to-screen adaptation, and why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Clueless<\/em>. The fact that it\u2019s literally an adaptation of Emma <\/em>still blows my mind. It\u2019s just so clever, and still faithful to the original. Jane Austen was obviously ahead of her time, or she\u2019s just timeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cracking open a book or putting in your earbuds?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cracking open a book, preferably on the beach. I especially love used books \u2013 if there\u2019s a dedication or maybe some notes, or even just pages that have been earmarked by a previous reader \u2013 I pay attention. Once I found love notes scattered throughout a copy of Call Me by Your Name<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Call me old-fashioned, but physical books can tell stories of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entrevista realizada por Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; las respuestas se han editado por motivos de espacio y claridad.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":39191,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-39190","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFriend of the Month: Tim Minerd - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-tim-minerd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Tim Minerd - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Born and raised in Virginia, Tim Minerd most recently spent 10 years as a New Yorker before a career opportunity brought him to Miami, where he met his now-hubby, Davis, in a gay kickball league. 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Spotlight: Lydia Lopez\/Miami-Dade Public Library System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-june2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"80\" class=\"wp-image-26374\" style=\"width: 150px;\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/MIAMI-DADE-PUBLIC-LIBRARY-SYSTEM.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lifelong South Floridian and second-generation Miamian Lydia Lopez was recently named director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpls.org\/\">Miami-Dade Public Library System<\/a>, which she joined in 2020 as its legislative and municipal affairs manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What compelled M-DPLS to partner with Miami Book Fair \u2013 how does our work support your community-building and cultural connection goals?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a no-brainer! [laughs] The library has been supporting the Fair since 2018, and was one of the founding partners of Books on the Bay, which of course became Miami Book Fair. The partnership strengthens our connection and engagement with Miami-Dade\u2019s literary community; supports our shared love of books and storytelling; helps us to highlight our programs, services, and local author series; and provides a fantastic outreach opportunity to connect book lovers with the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Can people actually sign up for library cards at the Fair?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, we usually bring either a <a href=\"https:\/\/mdpls.org\/mobile-library\">bookmobile or one of our technobuses<\/a> with us and invite people in and try to share as much as we can \u2013 because we offer so much and have a limited time on-site \u2013 and sign them up for library cards to get them using their local libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What do you think Miami Book Fair has brought to the community?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s brought life and passion to downtown Miami and Miami in general. Downtown wasn\u2019t somewhere you went to intentionally back when Book Fair started, but now people rush to spend time there during the Fair. It\u2019s also brought some amazing national and international authors to Miami-Dade, as well as homegrown authors, like <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Hiaasen%2C%20Carl\">Carl Hiaasen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Barry%2C%20Dave\">Dave Barry<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Blume%2C%20Judy\">Judy Blume<\/a> \u2013 who lives down the street in Key West \u2013 and also our poets, including <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Tallman%2C%20Nicole\">Nicole Tallman<\/a>, the county\u2019s third poet laureate. So we\u2019re excited about everything you do and how it complements what we offer at the library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tell me about some of the other organizations the library partners with.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We partner with just about everybody! On the literary front, we partner with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechildrenstrust.org\/\">The Children\u2019s Trust<\/a> on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechildrenstrust.org\/events\/ready-set-go\/\">READy, Set, Go<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechildrenstrust.org\/about-us\/what-we-fund\/book-club\/\">Book Club<\/a> programs, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elcmdm.org\/\">Early Learning Coalition<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/mdpls.org\/early-literacy\">Talk, Read, Sing<\/a> story time program, and with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upliftliteracy.org\/\">Uplift Literacy<\/a>, which offers literacy skills to children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How does our work align with your personal thoughts on access to literary culture?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It does so excellently \u2013 you deliver programs that provide residents with access to voices from across the globe and you offer something for everyone, which is magical! You have fantastic programs, but I do wish Book Fair wasn\u2019t in November because you\u2019re competing with my turkey prep for Thanksgiving [laughs]. I\u2019ll be sitting and waiting for a program to start at the Fair and working on my grocery list of all the things I have to shop for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s an MBF moment that still resonates with you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any one thing in particular \u2013 it\u2019s just a feeling of joy that I get when listening to authors talk about their experiences and how they see the world. Even if you haven\u2019t read their book, they always offer some insight or observation that you take away with you and share with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are you reading right now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m listening to Jill Lepore\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781631496080\"><em>We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution<\/em><\/a>, which is part of the mayor\u2019s America250 reading list. That\u2019s a 29-hour listen, so I\u2019m still in the middle of that. But there\u2019s been a few good ones that I recently read, including <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781982112820\"><em>My Friends<\/em><\/a> by Fredrik Backman, which I really liked. It\u2019s about the power of connection and the friendships that you make. It was laugh-out-loud funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Did you have a favorite book as a child or young adult?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780064400558\"><em>Charlotte\u2019s Web<\/em><\/a>, because you have the nurturing spider sharing what she knew and helping the poor little pig get through it. [laughs] <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>If you could have a one-on-one lunch with any author, living or dead, who would they be?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a toss-up between <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Parker%2C%20Dorothy\">Dorothy Parker<\/a> \u2013 because that would be a very interesting, probably cocktail party \u2013 and <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Brooks%2C%20Arthur%20C.\">Arthur Brooks<\/a>, because I really enjoy listening to his observations on happiness and finding joy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39189,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[904],"class_list":["post-39188","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-sponsor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sponsor Spotlight: Lydia Lopez\/Miami-Dade Public Library System - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/sponsor-spotlight-lydia-lopez-miami-dade-public-library-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sponsor Spotlight: Lydia Lopez\/Miami-Dade Public Library System - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lifelong South Floridian and second-generation Miamian Lydia Lopez was recently named director of the Miami-Dade Public Library System, which she joined in 2020 as its legislative and municipal affairs manager.  What compelled M-DPLS to partner with Miami Book Fair \u2013 how does our work support your community-building and cultural connection goals? 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of the Month: Glenda Jack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Glenda Jack spent much of the past 25 years living in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands before settling in Miami in 2024 to be closer to family. She shares her book recommendations and musings on Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/shereadswithwine\/\">@shereadswithwine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You haven\u2019t been here long \u2013 how do you like Miami?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, I love Miami! I visited many, many times before moving here \u2013 my mother was living here and my sister and her family are here, too. I\u2019ve got a great bunch of nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What have you been up to since coming here \u2013 are you still working?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m semi-retired now. I worked in finance and law but made a switch to substitute teaching when I got here \u2013 I didn\u2019t want to go back to corporate and reporting to people and going to staff meetings. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How did you first learn about Miami Book Fair?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I knew of it before living here; I\u2019ve been following Books & Books on social media for years. I love the caf\u00e9 there! Every time I was in town I\u2019d try to get to the store and have a coffee and pick up a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You\u2019ve been a Miamian just a couple of years, but having been familiar with the Fair before that and a longtime visitor, what do you think the Fair brings to Miami?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I love how it brings literary intellectuals together and that it\u2019s international \u2013 we have South America, the U.K., and other places represented \u2013 it\u2019s not just the United States. And \u2013 being from the Caribbean, so I\u2019m quite biased about this [laughs] \u2013 I like that Caribbean authors are part of the programming and that Little Haiti Book Festival is something that happens every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You joined Friends of the Fair as soon as you moved here \u2013 which benefits do you most enjoy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I really like the year-round author events and receptions and special events, where you can get up close and personal with the panelists; they\u2019re much more intimate than the larger programs at the Fair. I went to the Stories We Share event in March and that was great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s an MBF moment or experience that really stands out for you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s more than a single moment, because the 2025 Fair was such a bumper year of Caribbean authors! I\u2019m a founding member of an online Caribbean book club that\u2019s been going since 2020 \u2013 we started it up during the pandemic and we still meet every month \u2013 and it was so phenomenal to be at the Fair and meet the authors of the books that we\u2019ve discussed. Marlon James, Edwidge Danticat, Geoffrey Philp \u2013 who\u2019s a member of the book club \u2013 Camille Adams, Ryan Bachoo, Marlene Daut \u2026 I got to mix and mingle and spend time with them and attend their panels. Book Fair really is a literary paradise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tell me about the last great book you read.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780593687567\"><em>There Are Rivers in the Sky<\/em><\/a> by Elif Shafak. It\u2019s written across three time periods, starting way back BCE with Gilgamesh to modern times, connected by a single raindrop. I love water, I love the rain, I love the ocean \u2013 no matter where I\u2019ve lived, it\u2019s always been close to the water \u2013 and so the story really appealed to me. I also recently read <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781335777096\"><em>Dear Haiti, Love Alaine<\/em><\/a> by Maika and Maritza Moulite, which I really liked. It\u2019s a young adult book, but I saw last year that they were being honored at the Next Page Dinner and my curiosity was piqued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Which MBF 2025 program did you find particularly engaging?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t remember the name of the program* right now but it included Camille Adams, who was speaking about her memoir, <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781632063953\"><em>How to Be Unmothered: A Trinidadian Memoir<\/em><\/a>. I love mother-daughter stories, whether the relationship is good or bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*Ed. Note: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/event\/roots-reckonings-family-memory-caribbean-identity\/\"><em>Roots & Reckonings: Family, Memory & Caribbean Identit<\/em><\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/event\/roots-reckonings-family-memory-caribbean-identity\/\">y<\/a>; this program is available for on-demand viewing as part of Little Haiti Book Festival 2026 online.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I was going to ask you what three authors you\u2019d pick for your fantasy book club, but since you\u2019ve already been able to connect with some of your faves through your actual book club, I\u2019ll ask you this, instead: <\/strong><strong>What\u2019s the best book-to-screen adaptation you\u2019ve seen?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not a movie or television person \u2013 the only time I turn on the TV is when there\u2019s a Grand Slam tennis match on \u2013 so I can\u2019t think of one, but I just came back from a trip to French Guiana and visited the penal colony there, where Henri Charri\u00e8re, the real-life person who wrote the book <em>Papillon<\/em>, was imprisoned before he escaped. I visited the cell he was in, the penal colony was decommissioned in the 1940s, I think, and oh, my god, the place still smells of death. So while I\u2019ve never seen the movie, now I\u2019m intrigued and would like to read the book \u2013 I just picked up a copy at Books & Books \u2013 and see the movie, the one starring Steve McQueen that came out in the \u201970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39154,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-39157","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friend of the Month: Glenda Jack - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-glenda-jack\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Glenda Jack - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Glenda Jack spent much of the past 25 years living in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands before settling in Miami in 2024 to be closer to family. 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Spotlight: Albee Romero\/Libro.fm"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/may-2026-friends-sponsors.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"35\" class=\"wp-image-29319\" style=\"width: 150px;\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libro-FM_Logo.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libro-FM_Logo.png 946w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libro-FM_Logo-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libro-FM_Logo-768x180.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Albee Romero, marketing and publicity director for <a href=\"http:\/\/libro.fm\">Libro.fm<\/a>, has been with the company for nearly eight years. She\u2019s also a mom to three young children who love reading in print and audio.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why did Libro.fm make the decision to support Miami Book Fair? What about our work for the community resonates most with you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We love how Miami Book Fair weaves itself into the fabric of the city, so for us, the decision was easy. Our mission is to get people reading and supporting local bookstores, and what better place than the Fair to talk to readers about that? Another thing that resonated with us is your commitment to equity and accessibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are some of the sponsored activities you\u2019ve executed and enjoyed at the Fair?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first year we worked with the Fair we were not on-site, so we connected with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.booksandbooks.com\/\">Libros y Libros<\/a> y <a href=\"https:\/\/steamylitbookstore.com\/?srsltid=AfmBOorHkWdlEYIiutSysn4ieQHL7eUCa8dmAIkp7k8jNpCsKax-0jus\">Rom\u00e1ntico<\/a> \u2013 which are both bookstore partners of ours \u2013 to provide audiobooks for giveaways at their booths during the Fair. We also gifted free audiobook credits to authors, donors, and volunteers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, we decided to come out and have a presence at Street Fair. It was great to be able to have one-on-one conversations with people to talk about what Libro.fm is, how it works, and why it matters. The energy of Street Fair is unbeatable \u2013 handing free audiobooks to people who are already buzzed on literary excitement is just the best!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>And I think you also sponsored an author session?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, Maris Kreizman! When choosing a panel to sponsor we looked at which presenting authors were big indie bookstore supporters, because we love the way that those authors are bringing indie bookstores into their conversations, and how mindful they are about directing people to use and support their indie bookstore to help preserve those third spaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u00bfC\u00f3mo se alinea nuestro trabajo con tus pensamientos personales sobre el acceso a la cultura literaria?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Access is everything. For some, a physical book is it; for others, an audiobook is a vital tool. We believe that whether you\u2019re reading with your eyes or your ears, you deserve high-quality stories and a local bookstore to call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I love the concept behind what you do \u2013 can you give me the 30-second pitch for people who don\u2019t know what Libro.fm\u2019s about?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Libro.fm is an audiobook retailer and app that lets you buy your audiobooks directly through your favorite local independent bookstore. We offer a monthly membership and annual membership (just like that other big guy) as well as the option to shop a la carte. So with Libro.fm, instead of the profits going to a corporate behemoth, they\u2019re split with the indie shop of your choice. You get to enjoy more than 600,000 titles on our top-rated app while keeping your money in your local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tell me about some trends you\u2019re seeing in audiobooks \u2013 is there a particular genre that\u2019s blown up recently?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re seeing a massive appetite for literary fiction and psychological thrillers right now \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/libro.fm\/audiobooks\/9783759902573-yesteryear\"><em>Yesteryear<\/em><\/a> was our No. 1 bestseller last month and it\u2019s still selling wildly. We\u2019re also seeing an interest in cozy romance, like <a href=\"https:\/\/libro.fm\/audiobooks\/9780593825969-a-witch-s-guide-to-magical-innkeeping\"><em>A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping<\/em><\/a>. And another trend that has truly blown up is immersive nonfiction. Listeners are no longer just looking for a narrator; they want an experience. Audiobooks narrated by the authors themselves \u2013 like John Green or Lena Dunham \u2013 are huge because it feels like a private conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u00bfCu\u00e1l fue el \u00faltimo gran libro que le\u00edste? \u00bfEst\u00e1s leyendo algo bueno ahora?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m currently in the middle of <a href=\"https:\/\/libro.fm\/audiobooks\/9781250431516-this-story-might-save-your-life\"><em>This Story Might Save Your Life<\/em><\/a> by Tiffany Crum. It\u2019s a debut thriller that centers on podcast hosts, and the narration by Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins brings so much texture to the characters. It\u2019s been a huge hit with our bookselling partners, which inspired me to pick it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fess up: Is it all audiobooks all the time, or do you still crack open a book now and then?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, I definitely read in multiple formats. There\u2019s nothing like the smell of a new physical book, and bonus points if it\u2019s from a local bookstore! I\u2019ll listen to an audiobook while doing laundry, driving, etc., but I always have a physical book on my nightstand as well. Right now I\u2019m reading <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781668094716\"><em>Mother Mary Comes to Me<\/em><\/a><strong> <\/strong>por<strong> <\/strong>Arundahti Roy<strong> <\/strong>in print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Si pudiera tener un almuerzo privado con cualquier autor, vivo o muerto, \u00bfqui\u00e9n ser\u00eda y qu\u00e9 le preguntar\u00eda?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At the moment, I\u2019d say <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?type=author&q=Blume%2C%20Judy\">Judy Blume<\/a>. I\u2019ve loved listening to her books with my kids \u2013 we just blew through the whole Fudge series \u2013 and she\u2019s also a fierce advocate for independent bookstores and the freedom to read. As a bookstore owner herself, she truly gets the mission of Libro.fm. I\u2019d love to ask her about the secret to writing that remains so timeless and relatable across generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Entrevista realizada por Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; las respuestas se han editado por motivos de espacio y claridad.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":39155,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[904],"class_list":["post-39153","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-sponsor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sponsor Spotlight: Albee Romero\/Libro.fm - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/sponsor-spotlight-albee-romero-libro-fm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sponsor Spotlight: Albee Romero\/Libro.fm - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Albee Romero, marketing and publicity director for Libro.fm, has been with the company for nearly eight years. 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After attending college at Washington University in St. Louis \u2013 where she met her husband, Barry \u2013 she came back to begin married life and a long career serving the community, first as an educator and then in the nonprofit arena, including stints at Title I program HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), the Center for Yiddish Culture, and the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute, where she\u2019s worked with its founder, Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, for the past 26 years. A mom of three, grandmother of seven, and world traveler, she also manages to find time to support others as a certified yoga therapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How did you first learn about Miami Book Fair?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s easy; through Mitchell [Kaplan]. We went to high school together so we\u2019ve known each other for years. I remember when he was thinking about opening the store and I said, yes \u2013 we need you here! We need culture. Because it was a wasteland by the time I came back after college. You could roller skate all the way down Lincoln Road and not see another person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>That\u2019s a great segue to my next question, because yes \u2013 downtown in the \u201980s was arguably bleak and the Fair was one of the cultural institutions that helped transform it into what it is today. How has the Fair impacted Miami and how has it impacted you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I love this question! I think the idea of gathering people together to celebrate books and authors was a novel idea for that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>No pun intended. [both laugh]<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Right! The Fair, along with other cultural offerings that were coming into being or evolving at the same time, really put Miami on the map as a city that was more than just retirement communities and party beaches. Personally, it\u2019s given me a different vantage point than the one I had growing up here. Now we\u2019ve got the Arsht, PAMM, New World Symphony, the ballet. We have things for people to do other than go to the beach and hang out.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Did you bring your kids to the Fair when they were young?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I absolutely brought them to Children\u2019s Alley, which they loved. And sometimes I\u2019d get a babysitter so I could come back on my own and see the things I wanted to see. [laughs] Full circle moment: When my daughter was a teacher she brought her students to Children\u2019s Alley, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You\u2019ve been a Friend for a long time \u2013 what are some of your favorite membership benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I love the reserved seating, the year-round events, and seeing the same people year after year. I have a section in my phone contacts called Book Fair Friends. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s an MBF moment or experience that still makes you smile when you think about it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are so many! I\u2019ve had the opportunity and good fortune to meet so many interesting, intelligent, and compelling authors at the Fair \u2013 Dave Barry, Twyla Tharp, Caroline Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Michael Pollan \u2013 so many different people from all walks of life, which I love. But one of the best experiences was hearing Barack Obama speak. I couldn\u2019t believe how many people had come to see him from all over and were just lining up in droves. Standing there in a group of like-minded people and grasping that it was such a very special moment for both Miami and for me, that was incredible.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tell me about the last great book you read.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I recently finished <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/search?q=Lady%20Tan%E2%80%99s%20Circle%20of%20Women\"><em>Lady Tan\u2019s Circle of Women<\/em><\/a> \u2013 it was phenomenal \u2013 and <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780778311980\"><em>Women in White Coats<\/em><\/a>, about the first women doctors. I like reading firsthand stories of real, inspirational people. Now I\u2019m halfway through <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781611808117\"><em>Radical Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People in an Unjust World<\/em><\/a>, which is really interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I know you weren\u2019t able to make it to Book Fair last year, so who did you see in 2024 that really engaged you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Henry Winkler. He\u2019s dyslexic and because I have my master\u2019s in education with a focus on reading and learning disabilities, it really appealed to me how he had to struggle in life and found mentors who helped him believe in himself. I was really drawn to that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38974,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-38973","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friend of the Month: Alissa Pardo Stein - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-alissa-pardo-stein\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Alissa Pardo Stein - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alissa Pardo Stein was born and raised in Miami Beach. 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of the Month: Terry Murphy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Terry Murphy\" class=\"wp-image-39060\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/march-2026-terry-1024x1024-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Terry Murphy came to Miami in 1982 \u2013 a move he made to run a political campaign for his brother, who was a state representative \u2013 and returned for good the following year after he graduated from college. He and his wife, Maribel Balbin, whom he met when they were both working at the county commission, have been Friends of the Fair for years. \u201cWe got married to have grandchildren,\u201d he quips, and the couple now have four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you remember how you first heard about the Fair?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I learned about it through my work for the commission. From early on there was support for the Fair from the county through the Cultural Affairs grants council and there were a lot of presentations about it before commission committees going on, because it was a growing event. So I knew about it then and started going regularly in the \u201990s. Then when Maribel and I became a thing, I found out she\u2019d actually been on staff at the Fair for a couple of years, from 1991 to 1993, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cool!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019s always been a big fan of the Fair, and she was the one who introduced me to the idea of joining the Friends. Before that I sort of milled around and enjoyed the whole feel of the place without any kind of plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019ve been a Friend for a long time \u2013 what are some of your favorite membership benefits?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a couple of obvious benefits, including not having to wait in line to get in. You just wave your little lanyard with your badge and walk right in. [laughs] And if you\u2019re registered for any author events, having that dedicated line for Friends that allows you to enter and get right to your seats is a nice perk as well. But the fun part is the lanyard and badge that says you\u2019re a Friend of the Fair, and knowing that you\u2019re supporting it. Sometimes our schedules are so hectic that we can\u2019t attend \u2013 though that\u2019s rare \u2013 but we still buy memberships every year. It\u2019s our way of supporting what we think is a great event for Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Book Fair started in 1984, when downtown was a very different place. What has it brought to Miami?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Book Fair is a critical piece of the puzzle that is Miami. We\u2019re not just the cruise capital of the world or the only tropical metropolis in the United States. Having the Fair here puts us on the main stage of the literary world \u2013 and that\u2019s an important signal that we\u2019re not only a multilingual community for business and trade, we\u2019re a community of people who are creative and thoughtful. I think that often gets overlooked because we\u2019re a tourist destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s an MBF moment or experience that continues to resonate with you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It would have to be hearing and meeting Pat Conroy. His books are so good; I\u2019ve been in awe of him forever. I used to read him to my son when he was in the womb, and I think he recognized my voice in the hospital after he was born because of that. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting to meet Conroy was interesting because my brother-in-law was at the Citadel at the same time he was, and when I met him I asked if he remembered him \u2013 and he did! He asked after him and the family and sent his regards. It was wonderful to have that moment with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patti Smith, too. I\u2019ve always associated her with her music and her place on the punk rock scene, but hearing her speak about the diligence that\u2019s required to be a creative person was eye-opening. If you say you\u2019re a writer, she said, then go write; write every day. It was so exciting to hear her talk about the discipline needed to create, and realizing that she\u2019s very much a disciplined, studious, and focused person. I loved hearing that. I was thinking of writing a book myself, and that really inspired me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Did you ever start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m actually trying to get to it every day, just to get it all out. Then I\u2019ll see if I can present it in a way that makes some kind of sense. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I did a major bike ride last year after I retired, a 2,000-mile ride that took me from northwest Iowa where my parents are buried all the way across the Midwest \u2013 Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio \u2013 then into Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, Montreal, and Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wow! How long did that take you \u2013 and did you do it with a group?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It took me about two months; I was on my own. What I was doing was tracing all the places where my family had lived and settled upon coming to America from Ireland. I did that in Ireland last March \u2013 all my siblings and Maribel and I went and traveled to all the little places where my family originated. So I saw all the places they lived there and the bike ride was about where they landed here. Now I\u2019m working on a sort of memoir\/family history about those experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">That\u2019s beautiful \u2013 I\u2019d read that book.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best things that happened on the ride was that I found the location of my great-grandfather Brown\u2019s original homestead farm, so I rode by to just see the land. But when I got there there was this big brick house on the property, which was clearly still an active farm, and a sign that said, \u201cWelcome to the Brown Farm \u2013 Established 1891.\u201d So I went up to the house and knocked on the door, and this guy came out and said, \u201cHow can I help you? I saw you riding your bike down the gravel road \u2013 that was me in the pickup truck that passed you.\u201d And I said, \u201cI think I\u2019m your cousin.\u201d [laughs] And it turns out our grandfathers were brothers. He invited me in, we had some lunch, and we just hung out and talked for a really long time. It was great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell me about the last good book you read.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780316492928\"><em>How the Word Is Passed<\/em><\/a>, by Clint Smith. It\u2019s like a travelogue of American slave history; he tells the story through visits to different places, from New Orleans and Angola prison in Louisiana to Monticello in Virginia. It\u2019s such an artfully well-written book \u2013 it\u2019s researched but it also includes his interviews with the people he met and spoke to, and his observations. I really enjoyed reading it now, when there\u2019s such a concerted effort to wipe out and rewrite American history, leaving out the essential story of slavery. It\u2019s an important book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What three authors, living or dead, would you pick to be in your fantasy book club?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pat Conroy, and Barack Obama. Spending time with any one of those three people would be a thrill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39060,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-39059","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friend of the Month: Terry Murphy - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-terry-murphy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Terry Murphy - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Terry Murphy came to Miami in 1982 \u2013 a move he made to run a political campaign for his brother, who was a state representative \u2013 and returned for good the following year after he graduated from college. 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Today this mom of three grown children teaches at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/med.miami.edu\/\">Miller School of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0and serves as the disability specialist for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jewishmiami.org\/\">Greater Miami Jewish Federation<\/a>. She\u2019s also set to tie the knot in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How did you first learn about Miami Book Fair?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably at Books & Books. When I first moved here I was always looking for things to do, and as someone who loves books going to the Fair was a given. And once I had kids we came every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What has Miami Book Fair brought to Miami and what has it brought to you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I think Book Fair has created a very fertile landscape for more curiosity, more art, and more conversation. Personally, I participated in the Miami Writers Institute for about four or five years on and off, and one course I took was a two-day workshop that was really, really beautiful. It was an opportunity to be with like-minded people, to listen to writers, and to see yourself as a writer and consider what your thoughts and reflections and storytelling could be. It ended up taking me on a bit of a journey where I attended different writers\u2019 workshops and hosted two, one in France and one in Spain, and it really lit a fire under me. I also made a friend \u2013 who was a writer and who has since passed \u2013 who I never would have met if not for the workshops. Book Fair has enriched my self-knowledge and my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are your favorite FOTF benefits?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I like knowing who\u2019s coming to town ahead of time so I can plan. And I love getting to see so many people I know! It\u2019s nice having that kind of reuniting of community around reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s an MBF moment or experience that really stands out for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I saw Abraham Verghese a couple of years ago and he said something that stuck with me, something I use in my class at Miller. I teach in a fellowship program at the <a href=\"https:\/\/umiamihealth.org\/en\/locations\/mailman-center-for-child-development\">Mailman Center<\/a>, which is for neurologists, pediatricians, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists \u2013 people involved in interventions for neurological disorders. Verghese said that there are some people you can heal but not cure, and there are some people you can cure but not heal. I use that to really show the emotional side of the experiences that my students\u2019 patients are going through, especially when you\u2019re delivering a serious diagnosis that\u2019s going to affect the entire family. What Verghese said really gave me a window into that, and if I hadn\u2019t been sitting there to hear him say it \u2013 it\u2019s not something that was written in his book \u2013 I would not have that tool. That to me is Book Fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are you reading anything good right now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m in three book clubs, so this was a hard question for me! [laughs] I recently finished Ia Genberg\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780063309722\"><em>The Details<\/em><\/a>, which I just loved. It was like a fever dream, modern-day skeleton version of Charles Dickens\u2019 Christmas Past, reflecting upon your relationships and where you are in your life \u2013 I really like the way she writes. I also read in the past year <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780385550369\"><em>James<\/em><\/a> by Percival Everett. I loved the flip, loved the writing. And I just read Claire Keegan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780802158741\"><em>Small Things Like These<\/em><\/a>. It was so beautifully written. She\u2019s someone I\u2019d love to see at the Fair <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which MBF 2025 program did you find most engaging?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Barry Diller. He totally eviscerated the guy who was interviewing him \u2013 it was almost difficult to watch \u2013 but then you realized, Barry Diller probably does this to everybody. [laughs] He said a couple of meaningful things, including that one of the most important things you can be is curious in life. That stood out for me. I also really loved the banter between Daniel Silva, who was interviewed by his wife, Jamie Gangel. And oh, my goodness, when the rabbi (Angela Buchdahl) sang <em>Somewhere Over the Rainbow<\/em>, that was just beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What three authors would you pick to be in your fantasy book club?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This one is a reflection of my evolution as a reader. It\u2019s going to be Raymond Carver and Leo Tolstoy, with Alain de Botton moderating. He could understand the density and opulence of the Russian writer, and be able to suss out what a writer like Raymond Carver would bring to the conversation \u2013 the real challenges, the hard parts of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39063,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-39062","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friend of the Month: Nancy Zaretsky - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-nancy-zaretsky\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Nancy Zaretsky - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally from New York, Nancy Zaretsky came to Miami 38 years ago for grad school and never looked back. Today this mom of three grown children teaches at the\u00a0Miller School of Medicine\u00a0and serves as the disability specialist for the\u00a0Greater Miami Jewish Federation. 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They have three daughters, three \u201cfabulous\u201d sons-in-law, six grandchildren, one grandchild-in-law, and a great-grandson. Longtime champions of promoting educational opportunities for children and youth, in 2003 they established the I Have a Dream Overtown initiative, which followed two groups of children from kindergarten through high school, providing them with inspiration, enrichment, mentoring, and support as they went on to college and careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When did you first hear about Miami Book Fair?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: Very early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: I think it was the very first year. It was something we immediately knew we wanted to support and participate in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does Book Fair mean to Miami?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: That\u2019s probably a 10-part question. [laughs] I moved here in 1954 and I\u2019ve seen the county go through so many different transformations since then; every 15 years or so it reinvents itself. I spent a lot of time downtown when I was a kid, and to me it\u2019s always been the center of activity in the city. Then it started to deteriorate, but with the library and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/historymiami.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HistoryMiami Museum<\/a>\u00a0and other things coming to the area, it started to regenerate. And when Book Fair,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/miamifilmfestival.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Miami Film Festival<\/a>, and the other museums started to establish themselves there \u2013 along with the growth of Miami Dade College \u2013 that\u2019s when downtown started becoming the cultural destination that it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, we\u2019ve always been readers \u2013 Margie was a media specialist at an elementary school \u2013 and our walls are filled with books. So supporting something where books and authors can be celebrated, and where people can learn different things, is a wonderful thing to do. As a communitywide project the Fair certainly brings people downtown every November, but it\u2019s really a yearlong thing, because you bring authors to Miami all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: For me, knowing that I can go and hear so many authors is wonderful; I just love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: We definitely brought our Dreamers to the Fair, many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are some of your favorite FOTF benefits?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: Really, it\u2019s all the authors and hearing them talk about their books \u2013 that\u2019s fabulous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you usually Book Fair together to attend the same sessions, split up to see authors separately, or a little bit of both?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: I would say it\u2019s a little bit of both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: But for the most part we\u2019re together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: We don\u2019t have to sit next to each other every time. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s an MBF moment or experience that really stands out for each of you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: One thing I really enjoyed was when Harry Belafonte came to speak \u2013 remember that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: Yes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: Marlon Hill introduced him. Over the years we\u2019d seen him in concert, but at that point he was getting older and wasn\u2019t making a lot of public appearances. It was a moment that I\u2019ll always remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: I absolutely agree with that, but I\u2019m also a huge Dave Barry fan, and not just because he makes me laugh all the time but because his son went to my school. I\u2019ve known him for a good number of years and it\u2019s always a pleasure to see him at the Fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: And thankfully he never satirized you in his column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: Yes! Fortunately he never did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell me about the last great book you read.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780593498088\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Solito<\/em><\/a>\u00a0by Javier Zamora. It\u2019s a memoir of his journey from El Salvador to the United States as an unaccompanied 9-year-old. It is so personal and so appropriate for what\u2019s happening today that I haven\u2019t ever taken it off my night stand. I think it\u2019s a book that everybody should read. More recently, and this is a shameless plug, is a book called\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Kings-Corner-Easy-Jack-Portman\/dp\/B0FDQYKD3Q\/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bxK631mszrOM7W8eJYmEfg.Gd-rTsFSkJ_nvqpofurNJjr5L2bPkpOtXmeZT4cAXbY&dib_tag=se&keywords=Easy+Jack+Portman&qid=1758563122&s=books&sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>King\u2019s Corner<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: K-I-N-G apostrophe s \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: \u2013 that was written by a young author named Easy Jack Portman, who happens to be our grandson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: Published on the very day he graduated high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oh, wow \u2013 that\u2019s amazing!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: We are so proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: Of course it\u2019s the best book we\u2019ve ever read. [both laugh]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well, it wouldn\u2019t have been the same as seeing your grandson do a reading, but I\u2019m sure you must have seen someone at last year\u2019s Fair that you really enjoyed.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamibookfaironline.com\/event\/eddie-glaude-jr-maya-wiley-on-american-leaders-nonfiction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Maya Wiley and Eddie Glaude Jr.<\/a>\u00a0We watched them all the time on MSNBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: We\u2019re big fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019re on a monthlong sabbatical on a deserted island, just you and your thoughts. What\u2019s the one book you\u2019d be sure to bring with you and why?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Margie: It would be <em>King\u2019s Corner<\/em> by Easy Jack Portman! [all laugh]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark: Probably an atlas, so I could figure out where I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38588,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-38587","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friends of the Month: Margie & Mark Buchbinder - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friends-of-the-month-margie-mark-buchbinder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friends of the Month: Margie & Mark Buchbinder - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Margie and Mark Buchbinder \u2013 he moved here as a child \u2013 have lived in Miami for many years. 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Proud parents of a daughter living in New York City and a son in Seattle \u2013 and grandparents of four \u2013 they make their home in Coconut Grove with their beloved Labradoodles: Blue, 2, and Gem, 10.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"76\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/UM-horiztonal-PMS-1-300x76-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/UM-horiztonal-PMS-1-300x76-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/UM-horiztonal-PMS-1-300x76-1-18x5.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did you initially make the decision to support Miami Book Fair?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you come to my house you\u2019ll see a home filled to the brim with books in just about every room \u2013 photography and art books, biographies and memoirs, nonfiction books and political books \u2013 just a huge collection. We recently had to eliminate an entire wall of bookshelves because of a renovation project, and what a challenge that was! [laughs] Deciding what to keep and what to let go of was one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But to answer your question, I love books. And the Fair celebrates literature and reading and brings world-class writers to our city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do you think the Fair has brought to Miami as a whole?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When we first moved here in the \u201970s, Miami wasn\u2019t exactly known as a cultural destination; it was a beach town. But the Fair \u2013 along with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.artbasel.com\/miami-beach?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Art Basel<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nws.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New World Symphony<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 led the way in changing that. It\u2019s also created this community of readers and thinkers. Personally, it\u2019s allowed me to see some incredible authors speak about their work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell me about some of the other organizations you\u2019ve supported in Miami.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We were longtime supporters of New World Symphony,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebass.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Bass Museum<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where I sat on the board for a number of years \u2013 and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aijustice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Americans for Immigrant Justice<\/a>, where I was a board member for a long time. Immigrant rights are a cause that\u2019s very close to my heart, and in 2004 I collaborated with my friend\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bruceweber.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bruce Weber<\/a>\u00a0on a special insert for the\u00a0<em>Miami Herald<\/em>\u00a0called \u201cNeglected, Forgotten, Denied, but not Broken,\u201d which told the stories of Haitian immigrants fleeing to Miami, and how mistreated they were. We actually went to the Krome Detention Center and took pictures inside. We went on to show those images in the Russell Rotunda in Washington, D.C. Ted Kennedy helped us get the exhibition there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does our work align with your personal thoughts on access to literary culture?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the Fair opens doors. It brings diverse voices to the stage and it makes these events welcoming and affordable. It gives our community access to writers and stories that we wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019ve very graciously opened up your home to host MBF events \u2013 how did that happen and what were those experiences like for you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>My late best friend Linda Frankel \u2013 we were like sisters \u2013 was a big supporter of the Fair, and she was also an acquaintance of [MBF senior development associate] Lisa Better\u2019s, but I had never met her. But one day we were both out walking our dogs, met and started chatting, and had an immediate connection. So when she asked me if Lanny and I would host something for the Fair in our home, we were thrilled to do it; reading means everything to us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The events were both great. Lisa and [MBF director of development] Corey and the entire team were wonderful, and we loved opening up the house and meeting other supporters of the Fair \u2013 so many interesting people! The first one was an event with Bruce; he spoke. The most recent one happened to be held on Holocaust Remembrance Day \u2013 that was a powerful reminder of why the freedom to read and remember and share stories matters so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019re also a supporter of the Next Page Dinner.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Last year\u2019s event was fantastic; I saw so many people from the community that I knew. My daughter is coming down from New York for it this year. She actually has a very good friend presenting at the Fair, Margaret Stohl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Going back to your love of books, have you read anything good lately?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The last book that really resonated with me was the Pulitzer Prize-winning\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9780812985085\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between<\/em><\/a>, by Hisham Matar, a memoir. It\u2019s about his quest to return to Libya to find out what happened to his father, who disappeared during the Gaddafi regime. It\u2019s really moving. Right now I\u2019m reading something that Mitch Kaplan recommended,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.booksandbooks.com\/book\/9781954118638\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Go as a River<\/em><\/a>, by Shelley Read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">She\u2019s presenting that at the Fair this year.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Really? It\u2019s such a great book \u2013 it really pulls you in and immerses you in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you could have a one-on-one lunch with any author, living or dead, who would they be and what\u2019s something you would ask them?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, that\u2019s an easy one: Maya Angelou. My daughter-in-law, who\u2019s a pediatrician, was a Black history major as an undergrad and Maya Angelou is the person she admired most in the world. So when Angelou came to Miami for a speaking engagement and invited a mutual acquaintance to attend, he asked me and my daughter-in-law if we wanted to go because he couldn\u2019t. So we go and we\u2019re sitting in the front row waiting for it to start when a man comes up to me and says, \u201cAre you Behna Garder? Come with me \u2013 Maya Angelou would like to meet you.\u201d And he leads us backstage and my daughter-in-law just bursts into tears when she sees her. It was an incredible moment. And then she invited us to lunch afterward! We thought it was going to be a big reception but it was just us, Maya Angelou, and three other people. I think my daughter-in-law had an out-of-body experience. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would do anything to have lunch with her again, because I\u2019d love to know what she thinks about the world today, and of the arc \u2013 which we thought was bending in her direction, with diversity and caring and openness and freedom, but has bent so far away from all of that. I want to know if she\u2019d still be optimistic that it could bend back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38585,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[904],"class_list":["post-38583","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-sponsor"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sponsor Spotlight: Behna Gardner - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/sponsor-spotlight-behna-gardner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sponsor Spotlight: Behna Gardner - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photographer Behna Gardener and her husband, Lanny Gardner, chair emeritus of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, have lived here since 1974. 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del Mes: Susan Schein"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/susan-schein-friend-jan26-300x300-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/susan-schein-friend-jan26-300x300-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/susan-schein-friend-jan26-300x300-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/susan-schein-friend-jan26-300x300-1-12x12.jpg 12w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Susan Schein lives in South Florida and New York City, and also devotes time to exploring other worlds and cultures during frequent trips outside the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you recall when you first became aware of Miami Book Fair?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I first came here in 1985, the year after the Fair started, so I\u2019ve been going since it was still at its toddler stage! [laughs] I think a friend told me what it was, or I may have heard something about it at Books & Books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell me about your favorite FOTF benefits.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Definitely the up-front seating, especially as the Fair has grown and gotten more crowded, and being able to get tickets to the bigger programs happening at Chapman. But what I love most about the Fair overall is the intellectual stimulation it provides, and the new things it introduces you to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anyone who\u2019s been to Book Fair has a great MBF moment or memory to share \u2013 what\u2019s yours?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The singular, most significant event I experienced at the Fair was I believe in 2006, and that was seeing Barack Obama. At the time he hadn\u2019t yet declared his presidential run \u2013 though there were rumours about that flying around \u2013 and I was like, <em>Who is this guy?<\/em> because I didn\u2019t really know anything about him. He was scheduled for Chapman and then his program had to be moved to a bigger venue, which was my first clue, and then when I heard him speak and he was so brilliant, that\u2019s when I knew: This guy is a big deal and if he wants to be president, he\u2019s going to be president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do you think Book Fair has brought to Miami and what has it brought you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it\u2019s brought Miami prestige, surprise, praise, and a place to gather. I like the energy; I like the validation of being in a room with like-minded people, people I see every year there \u2013 in that way it\u2019s like a reunion \u2013 and I also like the collective overview it gives me on our culture as it stands at that moment. I think of the Fair as my annual conference on America, and everyone who knows me knows that if they want to find me the weekend before Thanksgiving, that\u2019s where I\u2019ll be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have you read anything good lately?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I just finished Rabbi Angela Buchdahl\u2019s\u00a0<em>Heart of a Stranger<\/em>, which I heard her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdc.edu\/livestream\/video.aspx?chan=dlhy2jdpzhh2zr4fsx4i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discuss at the Fair last year<\/a>. Her joy comes through the pages and the way she shares her self-doubt around the challenges she\u2019s faced \u2013 which\u00a0 I think most of us can relate to \u2013 is inspiring. I really admire her..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which MBF25 program did you find the most engaging?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I found the new slate of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamibookfair.com\/program\/jewish-life-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jewish Life & Culture<\/a>\u00a0programming to be both interesting and necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If MBF came to you and said, \u201cWho do you most want to see at the Fair next year?\u201d who would that author be and what would you ask them?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m back to Barack Obama. It would be the 20-year anniversary of his last appearance at the Fair and I\u2019d like to hear about what he sees as his legacy \u2013 does he think he helped move us toward truth and reconciliation from a longview perspective? That\u2019s what I want to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38582,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[903],"class_list":["post-38580","blog-post","type-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-friend"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friend of the Month: Susan Schein - Miami Book Fair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/miamibookfair.com\/es\/blog-post\/friend-of-the-month-susan-schein\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of the Month: Susan Schein - Miami Book Fair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Susan Schein lives in South Florida and New York City, and also devotes time to exploring other worlds and cultures during frequent trips outside the United States. 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